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Tuesday, September 6, 2016

The Benefits of Not Having TV

It’s been a long time since I have participated in Top Ten Tuesday! I’m glad to have the chance to jump in with my new site and discover some new blogs to follow in the process. Today’s theme is TV. I have not had a TV in my home since I got married in 2012, which at first made it seem like I might need to skip this topic. But then my husband suggested blogging about all the reasons we prefer not having a television and I realized that would be the perfect post! So, here are ten benefits of not having a television.

I don’t waste time channel surfing. When I have owned a TV in the past, I wasted a lot of time flipping through channels to find something to watch. Now, because my only access to TV shows is through web-based streaming services like Hulu and Netflix, I have to know what I want to watch before I sit down and turn on the screen. If there isn’t a new episode of a show I follow, I can easily find that out, and then choose to do something else rather than circling the dial hoping for something interesting to pop up.

I am not beholden to a viewing schedule. When I had TV, and House MD was still on the air, I was always disappointed when I couldn’t be home in time to watch. I would sometimes choose to stay home rather than go and do something more interesting because I didn’t want to miss watching House in real time. Now, without television, I have no idea when shows are supposed to be on. I watch the few things that interest me on Hulu or Netflix when I have a little down time - or, more often, when I’m working on repetitive or mindless tasks and can have it on as background noise.

My children are not tempted to watch. I don’t believe screen time is necessary during early childhood, so my older daughter had no screen time at all until just shy of two years old, and at just shy of one year old, her younger sister is still completely screen-free. It has been relatively easy to make this happen because there is no television to draw their attention. If the television were in our living room and forbidden to the children, I think they would be much more interested in trying to gain access to what they know is not allowed. Without that temptation, TV is never an option, so they choose other ways to pass their time.

I maintain control over screen time content. Little Miss Muffet (nearly 3) is now allowed around 30 minutes of screen time per day. (Some days she still doesn’t have any, but 30 minutes is her typical maximum.) Despite being allowed some screen time, however, she is never allowed to choose what she watches. I maintain complete control over YouTube, Hoopla, Bookflix, Netflix, etc., and I provide her with age-appropriate content at my discretion. This way, I know she is not accidentally being exposed to videos that are too mature in their language or sense of humor, or which are in contradiction to our family’s values. This also means I am not stuck watching a show I think is terrible (like the dreaded Caillou) because she found it on her own when my back was turned and won’t give it up.

There are no arguments over the television. Because there is no TV, there are never any debates, discussions, or fights over who is going to watch what when. When it’s time to leave the house, I don’t have to tear anyone away from a screen, and I never have to fight to limit screen time in order to encourage other forms of entertainment. The struggle to balance TV-watching with other things is simply a non-issue for us.

We have minimal exposure to ads. Not having a TV means I don’t have to sit through commercials. It also means my children don’t see advertisements for toys or foods that we don’t want them to have. My older daughter still has no idea that battery-operated toys exist, let alone that she might be able to purchase one at a toy store. She has said several times that she wants Santa Claus to bring an orange this year, and nothing else. It had not occurred to me that not seeing TV commercials would assist in making her happy with what she has, but I think not being exposed to marketing campaigns makes it easier for people not to think about what they might be missing.

My children are exposed to silence. If I had a TV at home with me during the day, it would probably be on, just for the illusion of adult companionship. With the TV on, the soundtrack for our day would be a steady stream of background noise. Without the TV, though, my children have periods of quiet every morning, where we all go about our business in companionable silence. This quiet seems to make it easier to concentrate, and contributes to an overall sense of calm in our home.

My children have no interest in media tie-in merchandising. Because my kids have never seen Peppa Pig, Daniel Tiger, Elmo, or any other popular television character, they are completely immune to the toys, clothes, and books created to market those shows. Occasionally other adults will talk to Miss Muffet about popular TV shows, and she just looks at them blankly for a moment, then changes the subject to something more suited to her interests. On occasions where has encountered toys based on TV characters (such as a small figure of Bert from Sesame Street, or a bean bag doll of Charlie Brown), her lack of background knowledge about them has allowed her to play with those toys in a way that is specific to her imagination and not predetermined by what happens on TV.

My family is shielded from the relentless 24-hour news cycle. The news can be depressing and draining, especially when coverage harps so heavily on unpleasantness. Without TV, I don’t have to listen to an endless loop of the same news stories over and over. Instead, I can consult the few online news sources I feel I can trust, read what’s going on just once, and move on with my day.

There is lots more time to read. Probably my favorite thing about not having a television is that I spend a lot more time reading than I did when TV was available to me on a daily basis. My children, too, spend much of the day going through stacks of books. (Miss Muffet tells herself stories; Bo Peep flips pages and occasionally bites corners.) I also notice that given the choice between a video and a book, Miss Muffet will more often choose the book, because it gives her an opportunity to interact one-on-one with an adult.

9 comments:

We still have a TV, but we don't have cable or an antenna hooked up, so we only watch "TV" online via Netflix - or for the Olympics, I plugged in the antenna. I agree with your list! I spend most of my free time reading, and I don't miss TV. We got rid of cable in 2009 maybe, and we haven't missed it.

We have TV, but the only time it's on when my daughter is awake is for the occasional baseball or football game, of when we watch a family movie together on DVD or download. At six she gets a bit more screen time than your daughter does, and does choose some shows that I might not choose, but all of her viewing is on a tablet, so we avoid commercials, having the TV on just making noise in the background, TV news, etc. Funny thing is that when sports are on, she LOVES the commercials. I guess because they are rare for her.

I could definitely see wanting to have a TV/cable if we were into sports. The only things I occasionally find myself wishing I could watch are Jeopardy, the World Series, and the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, but I can live without them.

We don't have Netflix, Hulu (since now it's a paid-service only), cable, or dish, and I'm nervous about youtube. That means my kids watch old-school VHS tapes and DVDs I've selected. I don't love screen time, but it definitely serves its purpose.

We've enjoyed Mister Rogers, Reading Rainbow, and the Scholastic book compilations from the library. Plus the Kid Songs "vintage" videos.

We have done a few of the Scholastic videos, and some Reading Rainbow, though I usually just fast-forward to the story and turn it off when Levar Burton starts talking. We don't do a whole lot on YouTube - mostly just videos of animals and Sesame Street clips from the 70s and 80s. So far Netflix and Hulu are just for me.